Fairy Scale
by SoaringHellButterfly
Summary: Natsu is a Fire Dragon and the son of the Great Flame King Igneel, making him a prince in the eyes of their kin. But he doesn't feel he's earning that title by living off his father, and his stubborn nature won't allow him to return home until he's strong enough. One day, however, a beautiful golden female flew into his territory... the rest is like a fairy tale. NaLu. DRAGON STORY
1. A Fateful Encounter

Yo! I'm back with a new story, with a big idea that I had. Ready for it...? What if they were BOTH dragons? Yeah, I know, blows your mind, right?

I'll be honest with you, I did a _looooot_ of research on dragons for this story to sound smooth and fluid in detail, and not a load of made up crap that I have no idea about. Mythical creatures are a passion of mine in my art though, so I do know a little bit of what I'm talking about. However, everyone's interpretations on dragons are different, but just try to remember I am pretty much trying to cross Fairy Tail dragons with dragons of lore to make something I've not seen done. Well, here goes nothing... enjoy!

The title is a play on the manga's name, I know it isn't very creative, though. Sad face.

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_**Fairy Scale**_

**Chapter 1**

A Fateful Encounter

Hot molten lava simmered and seethed calmly, little bubbles rising and popping as noxious gases escaped into the open air. Heat waves clearly visible as they fizzled and rose out of the wide ringed opening of the mountain containing the immense heat, steady plumes of white smoke the only thing giving away the quiet structure's inner power.

The bubbling increased suddenly, little domes of the gases forming steadily faster as something began to emerge to the surface. A black pointed horn soon became visible among the bright orange and yellow liquid fire.

Then, a large reptilian head popped out, the creature's dark crimson scales contrasting sharply against the brightness of the lava. He rose from the molten fire pool and climbed to a ledge that was nearby, trickles of lava clinging and sliding down his heat-immune body, before spreading his wide bat-like wings and shaking himself slightly.

"Ah~... nothing like a bath after catching lunch!" The creature grinned, revealing rows of perfectly sharpened white fangs. He leaned forward reaching his arms out in a big stretch, his long tail stretching the opposite way as he opened his mouth wide in a big lazy yawn.

This is Natsu, a Fire Dragon.

And not just _any_ typical Fire Dragon, mind you, no he was the son of the ruler of all Fire Dragons. His father was _Igneel; the Great Flame Dragon King_! Sends a shiver down your spine, doesn't it? Of course it would, it did to all creatures who heard that imperial title uttered, and it made Natsu damn proud to hold the title of _Prince_ with an awesome father like that to follow.

He was almost the spitting image of Igneel; most noticeably his deep crimson scales that signified his status as a Fire Dragon, which covered most of his body. The under portions of his belly, tail, chin and part of his thighs were salmon pink, unlike Igneel's beige coloring. Two horns grew out atop his head and one that pointed upward above his nose, however while Igneel's blended into the rest of his red body, Natsu's were black. As well were his long sharp claws and the ridges running down his back and to the tip of his tail.

Dragons all around knew their names, knew their power and strength, and they had retained a very fearful reputation among their dragon peers. However if you knew these two royals on a personal level, you'd know that they weren't all that scary at all. In fact, they were both really playful and childish at times.

Igneel, as a fearless King, was a lot better at containing this side of himself though, much better than his only son who was still a bit of an immature juvenile. In truth he was only a little over 200 years old now, he hadn't even reached his full size yet. Igneel - who was over 400 - still towered over him somewhat.

And he absolutely _hated it_ when the old lizard dared to call him a pipsqueak!

Truth be told, while Natsu would blame it all on his youth and the fact he hadn't had his growth spurt into adulthood, Natsu was... a little smaller than most dragons his age. A close friend of Igneel was the leader of the Metal Dragons called Metalicana, and his son was a good friend and rival of Natsu's named Gajeel.

During all their encounters Gajeel absolutely loved to taunt and rile Natsu up about his size to no end, even giving him the nickname _'Salamander'_ which, translated, meant _'small fire lizard'_. Natsu's biggest pet peeve was being called small, it always hit at his pride when they pointed out that one little short-coming of him.

Gajeel's constant teasing along with Igneel's had eventually driven Natsu to the end of his rope and he wanted to go off on his own to do some 'growing'. Not just hopefully in a physical sense but it was an opportunity to learn to fend for himself. Most of his life had been spent with Igneel, dependent on him and surviving off _his_ knowledge and _his_ power.

Natsu wanted to be able to do it all for _himself_. He didn't want Igneel to provide meals, he wanted to go out and grab it himself. From places outside of home. He didn't want Igneel to fight his battles for him or protect him like when he was a hatchling, he wanted to do that himself. He wanted to build to the superior strength that his father displayed and then beat it with his own amazing power.

He was the _Flame Dragon Prince_, dammit. And he had so much to live up to with that title, he'd feel like a failure if he didn't turn out to be as strong as they made him seem. He didn't want to disappoint the dragon who had raised him alone. Who, honestly, didn't need his son to do anything to 'prove himself', really.

Igneel was simply content to have his only child by his side, he already had total confidence in Natsu's abilities. He was his son, after all. It was just a matter of waiting for him to shine at the right time.

It's been quite a few years now since he saw his father, nearing a decade now that he thought about it. Natsu missed him very much, and even thought about going back home a few times, but he always shook it off and remembered why he left to begin with. He was going to become stronger, to learn from this and earn his rightful place by his father's side instead of being given it on a silver platter. He wouldn't return until he felt he was strong enough.

He'll never forget the last thing Igneel said to him, though... _"When you come home I hope it's with a mate! Otherwise don't bother!"_

Natsu had felt his jaw drop. _"What kind of goodbye is that?!"_

Yeah, good luck with that journey... Females were sparse ever since the big migration in X777. Dragons vanished pretty much from existence, going into deep hiding. Humans had been hunting down dragons for so long - for their magic, for trophies, to become pets - it was decreed throughout the entire dragon race that they disappear for a time, until mankind becomes less corrupted or no longer rule most the world.

Eventually they'd resurface but until then it was rare for even dragons to come across other dragons unless they lived in colonies. Natsu only came across four during his nomad years traveling, all of them male.

It was after five years of living that nomad lifestyle that Natsu found the place he'd been calling 'home' ever since. Wandering from place to place was fun for the first couple years, seeing all the new places so different from his birthplace, but it wasn't the lifestyle he was cut out for.

His domain was a large expanse of land; black rock mountain ranges outlining his home to form a crescent shape, a freshwater lake filling the empty space between the mountain points of the crescent, and his favorite part was a private volcano at the very center. It was pretty dormant, and hadn't erupted in a long time, yet still housed a pool of vibrant magma within that he could dip in whenever he wanted.

He even had a forest like his own personal garden growing around the volcanic formation that housed fair game he could hunt whenever he was hungry. This was his own little paradise.

Despite being a Fire Dragon, he really liked nature. All the different sights and smells were vastly different from the lava-spitting, volcanic molten rock type of terrain Igneel preferred, where no human or animal could possibly survive the extreme heat. That was the kind of place Natsu had grown up in, and when he left he decided to see what else the world had to offer.

It was a nice place to visit (if he actually did, that is) often but as said before, Natsu liked his humble abode just fine. There were a number of caves in his mountains to be used for anything, and he'd found a nice big comfy one to sleep in at the peak of the tallest spire while he had another large one to house his personal treasure hoard close by.

Currently, Natsu was just finishing up roasting his lunch, a nice thick side of boar that he caught this morning. For the last ten minutes he'd been letting out a steady flow of fire breath over a make-shift grill with the meat to get it cooked just to his liking. He could've eaten it raw, but he preferred his food - like everything else - nice and hot, nothing tasted quite the same when it was cold.

He could hear it start to sizzle, see the natural juices secreting and the heavy scent of mouth-watering meaty goodness filled his nostrils. Natsu stopped the flow of fire from his throat, licked along his lips and reached forward to chomp onto the hide as he removed it from the fireplace to indulge in his food at last.

Natsu had only gotten a few bites in when a distant yet piercing noise made him pause, his head lifting from his meal to look over to the mouth of his cave. Several seconds later he heard it again, louder as it bounced and echoed off his den walls. His coal eyes narrowed, that sound could only be one thing; it was clearly a male dragon's roar.

Who dared trespass on his territory? Male dragons usually let out loud roars like that when entering territories they wish to claim, to lure out any males already occupying it and engage in a fight for rights to it. They'd have to be a real idiot, however, to come into the home of _Natsu the Flame Dragon Prince_ and not expect repercussions. Surely they could smell him all over the place and know this land was taken and not going to be given up anytime soon.

Well if they didn't they were about to find out, he thought with a huff, and it wasn't going to be a pleasant 'chat' either. They had better just be passing through...

Looking to his partially-eaten boar meat, he let out a loud growl. Yeah, they were definitely going to pay for interrupting lunch, too. Natsu turned towards the exit, stomping outside while growling under his breath. Now he was irritated.

Another roar rang through the air, and his steps halted as his narrowed eyes widened slightly at the complete difference in pitch to the previous ones.

That one was... a _female's_ roar...?

If he hadn't heard the other roar twice he might've gotten them mixed up but there was definitely a difference in the two. The male's was deeper and had a commanding tone, the female's was noticeably higher pitched and rung like the chiming of a grand bell.

Natsu's eyes narrowed again and he shook his head. Who cares, what difference did it make what they were? They were both trespassing. He'd kick them both out of here, and if the male put up a fight then he'd gladly show him who ruled over the Fire Dragons and why he was feared by other dragons. His time on his own had tremendously improved his skills, the aforementioned males Natsu encountered weren't always the kind to pass by with a courtesy wave. He'd had to fight off some rivals in his travels.

With a determined nod of his head Natsu exited completely, stalked to the edge of the cliff side and looked down from his peak to get a visual of his intruders. From this high up they wouldn't see him from above if he was careful.

He almost couldn't believe what _he himself_ was seeing, though.

Two dragons soared through the sky at incredible speeds below him, one a male large and white with a windswept feathered face that had two small antlers protruding from the top of his head. The light blonde feathery hair that covered the sides of his face continued along his spine and down his tail until it came to a brush-like tip at the end. His wings spanned wide as they glided him swiftly through the air, and took on the form of angel-esque feathered wings. Natsu didn't know his name but recognized him to be a White Dragon, or a dragon of light.

The other, however... that's the one who really got his full attention. His gaze was practically glued to what had to be the strangest yet loveliest thing he had ever laid eyes on...

The second dragon was a beautiful golden female. The entirety of her body shimmered and sparkled like jewels in the sunlight with smooth scales of the purest gold, with the exception of her underbelly that shone a brilliant pearly white. Her great bat-like wings carried her gracefully in the wind, zipping across his sight like that of a shooting star...

She was a bit of a petite dragon, but that was common for females to be smaller than males, she was the perfect size for him... And she was young, like he was, and also like him she still had growing to do so she'd only become more lovely...

Natsu shook his head quickly. What the hell is he doing? Why was he thinking about some female like that? He'd never thought like that about any of the females he'd known back home, and he didn't care that much to avidly find one for himself right now either. Perhaps it was due to growing up mostly among males, with no mother around to implant the importance of female company in him. Either way, it still didn't explain why he thought so fondly of this little filly playing chase with another male.

But looking back down at them, he noticed something. In her eyes... He was troubled to see even from up high above that those chocolate brown eyes of hers appeared... panicked and frightened.

He suddenly realized that she wasn't_ playing_ with the White Dragon at all, now that he was paying closer attention it was clear she was actually _fleeing_ from him. Her roars were cries for help. His were demands she stop and yield to him.

The Fire Dragon Prince growled, not only did this male enter his territory without permission, he was trying to catch a female who obviously didn't want to be caught. This kind of stuff made him angry back home, and he'd have to make his presence known before he chased the poor female off his territory because at that point he'd have no true motive to help her.

If he encountered a male outside his territory, with a female present, he'd surely send the wrong message to both him and her, and make her think he was dueling the male for rights to her. And while that wasn't a bad thought he didn't want to scare her off or make her fear him, too.

Why was he even thinking like this? Now was really not the time, he had a more serious issue to deal with.

Natsu watched them circle around the volcano, the golden beauty always managing to stay a few wide lengths ahead of her pursuer. They zig-zagged all over the place, before the female dived down, weaving in and out of the treeline in an attempt to throw her follower off since he was too big to follow her through the gaps in the trees. She was looking left and right, as if searching for something, he guessed it was a hiding place of some sort. Not that it'd really do her much good.

Deciding now was a good time to move, Natsu gripped the edge of the cliff and flung himself over it, spreading his wings to catch the air. Natsu loomed over the pair as they continued their one-sided game of tag, waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment came when the White Dragon started closing in on the female as she began to lose speed from exertion, almost within arm's reach of her.

With a roar he collided with the White Dragon's back, who let out a surprised howl as he was slammed into the one of the black rock mountains several yards down. Flapping his wings steadily to keep from dropping, Natsu faced the rival male fully while turning his head to check on where the golden female had flown off to.

She was paused about a quarter of a mile away, having heard her pursuer's yelp and was curious to see what had happened. When her brown eyes locked with his jet black ones, Natsu noticed a subtle twinge in his gut, it felt... almost pleasant. Yet another weird thing he wanted to shake off. Kind of.

She didn't keep eye contact for long, she noticed the white male's figure getting up on his feet in the dust then quickly twisted around and flew off to find a place to hide. Natsu waited until she was out of sight before returning his full attention to the White Dragon, who was not at all happy with the uninvited company.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He roared angrily, blue eyes glaring harshly at the crimson dragon who hovered over him. "I'll kill you if you cost me my chances of catching her!"

Natsu stared back with his own steely gaze. "You came on my land, for that _I_ can kill _you_. This territory belongs to Natsu the Flame Prince."

"I don't give a flying rat's ass who you are! That female is mine!" He leaned back on his hind legs and leaped into the air, spreading his wings and rising to be level with Natsu. "You may be the Fire Prince, but your title means nothing to me - Sting, son of Weisslogia!

Natsu huffed. "She doesn't appear to share the same feelings you do... unless you consider a game of tag as the honeymoon."

"Shut the hell up! She didn't know this land belonged to anyone, and frankly I could care less. If you want her you'll have to take her over my dead body."

"That can be arranged." Seeing that a fight was inevitable, Natsu leaned his head back and then threw it forward with a mighty roar, a wave of fire pouring from his throat and heading directly for Sting.

The blonde-feathered dragon quickly made the same motion, before throwing out his own Dragon Roar, in the form of a white beam of light shooting straight out from him. Around the laser-like beam whirlwinds twisted violently, and when the stream of light collided with the fire blast, the two opposing forces met in a great explosion. Tips of trees caught in the line of fire were either disintegrated or set aflame, birds that used to house them long gone after sensing the impending danger.

Through the black smoke of the collision Natsu flashed through, his eyes being able to withstand sight inside the gaseous vapor, and caught Sting off guard with a hard swipe of his right fist to his feathered face. The White Dragon's head snapped to the side at the hit, but quickly retaliated with a swing of his tail to Natsu's own head.

Natsu didn't take much damage from such a simple smack and tilted his head, opened his jaws and clamped down hard on the offending tail. He winced as he bit into what felt like Gajeel's metal rods, for Sting's scales were incredibly thick, like a human trying to bite through a knight's armor. Still, he refused to let go and give him the opportunity to swing at him again.

The White Dragon smirked at the Fire Dragon over his shoulder. "Enjoying the taste of my armored flesh? That's a perk to being a Dragon of Light, our scales are reinforced with twice the thickness as all other types of dragons! The only ones capable of standing up to our hard skin are the Iron or Rock Dragons, and you're nowhere near that strong!"

With Natsu still attached by teeth to his tail, Sting flung it harshly back, flipping Natsu over him and thrusting him to the ground below. Natsu let out a grunt of pain as the wind was knocked out of him at the impact, his body immobile against the pain for a moment.

"You look like nothing more than a little hatchling just growing into his wings, you probably don't even know how to fight for yourself. Think you can beat me? Think you could actually be _King of the Fire Dragons_? Ha!" Sting laughed tauntingly, hovering steadily above the crater that formed from Natsu's fall. As he waited for his opponent to resurface, Sting lifted his clawed hand and began to generate a sphere of light around it.

From the ground, Natsu shook himself off of debris, growling darkly at the male toying with him. He dare question his strength, the very strength that Igneel taught him never to doubt?

What really pissed him off was that hatchling comment, he was not that much smaller than any other dragon his age, dammit! And his physical build more than made up for his size! Now this meant war.

"_Crushing Fang!_" Igniting his claws Natsu twisted around, swiping his arm in an arch motion, four identical claw-mark flames directed at Sting. The two outer ones flew past him, the two in the middle connecting with his mid section, sending him back slightly from impact. His armored body took the brunt of it, but the flames still scorched him to cause some damage.

Sting hissed slightly at the sear to his abdomen. "So your little fire _can_ burn. Well, let's see if you can dodge this; _Stigma Claw_." With his hand still encased in the glowing sphere, Sting sped forward toward Natsu, the Fire Dragon crouched and ready to retaliate at the right moment.

As Sting swiped his glowing claws at Natsu's body, the Flame Prince used flares beneath himself to give him a burst of hot air that lifted him up, dodging the first swipe. Quickly retaliating, Natsu unleashed another roar at Sting, the White Dragon unable to avoid taking damage this time. His feathered wings caught the majority of the blast, white feathers turned black and gray flying in all directions as a horrid smell began to filter the air.

Sting screeched out loudly, crying out at the pain caused to his wings. "You've tarnished my wings! I'll kill you for sure now!"

With speed Natsu didn't see coming, Sting's glowing sphered claws collided with his chest, branding the salmon pink flesh with a glowing symbol. It was a circle, with a cross-like shape in the center and four spikes on the outer circle facing outwards. At first Natsu was confused about the mysterious marking, but he soon understood its purpose as suddenly his wings stopped moving to hold him in the air.

With no movement sustaining him, Natsu once again fell to the ground, this time his whole body immobile and no longer under his control. He clenched his sharp teeth in frustration, fighting against the force holding him, but unable to figure out the true trick to do so.

"Having a good time?" Sting chuckled, slowly descending to the ground by Natsu. "My _Stigma Claw_ is a holy spell, it renders anyone I implant the stigma with immobile. Now you can only feel pain as I finish you."

"You bastard! That's a low blow, using a cheap spell like this and killing a dragon while he can't defend himself or fight back. You're pathetic! You call yourself a dragon?!" Natsu snarled, his anger building. It was one thing to call him small, it was one thing to question his strength as a Dragon...

It was another to fight dirty and not fight on equal terms!

"Humph, like I care what you think, all's fair in love and war as the humans say. Now you'll be a helpless little dragon while I kill you where you _don't_ stand. And as soon as you're gone, I'll find that beautiful female and we'll mate on your grave."

For some reason _that_ was the breaking point of his patience.

Growling viciously, Natsu's body suddenly burst into flames, his eyes glazing over in a fiery red-orange glare as his rage boiled over. In the back of his mind, he can remember Igneel looking similar as he battled Uncle Atlas. Glowing golden orbs that shined with unleashed fury and power, fire pouring from his mouth and untamed flames covering his clawed hands...

Now he really was his father's spitting image. Yet the power he displayed seemed so immense, his fires burning hotter than a demon's.

The dancing flames encompassing him gathered around his chest, where the glowing white marking lay. The fire lay over it, burning the very magic right off the source as steam rose from its place and a sizzling sound could be heard. With the spell broken, Natsu regained movement, and took immediate advantage of Sting's apparent shock over the turn of events.

"How did you remove my-?!" He was unable to finish as Natsu rose up and slammed his fist into his gut. The moment the fist touched him, a small explosion blew up right into him, making him scream out and jerk back from the force. But he didn't have any time to move to recover, as another flame-covered fist smashed into his side this time.

Another explosion as the punch landed. One right after another the fists kept coming, and every hit would create a subsequent blast of pain as almost nothing but explosions filled his ears. Natsu's snarls and grunts were all he could hear in the brief pause between punches.

Soon the sound of his armored scales breaking under the harsh punishment alerted him of his apparent defeat. He'd prided himself so much on his kin's unique trait, he failed to realize it was possible more than brute strength alone could penetrate it.

Unable to stay upright against the onslaught any longer, Sting was sent rolling into the dirt with one last hard punch into his feathered face. Unlike the rest of his body, his face wasn't as enhanced with the thick scales, so that one hit was all it took to end the fight.

With the White Dragon struggling to stand back up Natsu quickly landed on top of him and pinned him down, one foot pressed firmly to his neck. Blue eyes looked up at him, still burning with fight despite his wounds and Natsu growled as he pressed harshly against his hold on Sting's neck.

"I'm feeling a bit generous today, so I'm giving you this _one opportunity_ to leave with your life. Enter my domain again, unintentionally or not, and I will end you. _Without mercy._" Natsu's voice held no threat, but rather a deathly promise that made the dragon under him shudder noticeably.

"And another thing..." He leaned forward, pitch-black eyes deadly. "Try to touch that female ever again and your fate will be worse than death for trespassing."

With that he let up on his hold of Sting's neck, shoving him away harshly. "**Get out.**"

"You haven't won! I swear I'll get you for this humiliation!" Sting roared as he flew off. Natsu watched his battered white and blonde form disappear over the treeline, and listened long after that until he could no longer hear his wings in the wind.

He'd be back. Natsu knew he would be, males don't take losses like that sitting down. Pride was, and will always be, one of their greatest flaws.

"Is... Is he gone?" A soft, hesitant voice asked weakly.

Natsu turned slightly to see the golden female several yards from him, peaking out slightly from behind some shrubbery. He smiled, and nodded slowly. "Yeah, he's gone. But unfortunately he'll be back, I have a feeling."

She looked at the ground, a sigh of relief escaping her as she stepped further out into the open. She had barely walked several steps before wobbling unsteadily and Natsu watched in surprise as she suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"H-Hey! Are you alright?!" He clambered over to her, praying that she hadn't just dropped dead. He didn't exactly know what to do if she had... Have a burial? Try to locate her colony?

When he was close enough Natsu was relieved to see the quick-paced rise and fall of her sides as she breathed heavily, her face displaying nothing but pure exhaustion. He frowned deeply as he gazed down at her, just how long had she been running from Sting?

Now that he was mere feet away, his eyes properly took in her tired form, and Natsu reared his head back at something he hadn't taken notice of before... the gashes that decorated random parts of her. Some were scabbed over and appeared older than others, some were fresh and still bleeding a little.

He'd hurt her! In his attempts to catch her he'd ended up injuring her in order to subdue her!

Natsu nearly snarled in outrage and was tempted to go find that white scumbag and do far worse. But as much as the thought of Sting suffering would please him, he wouldn't abandon this female when she clearly needed help. He needed to get her to some fresh water quickly, there they could get her a drink as well as treat her wounds and get them clean.

He gently touched her unmarred neck with a clawed hand, and one of her eyes opened to look up at him in response. Natsu smiled a little, and spoke in a low murmur.

"Here, I'll take you to the lake. We'll get you fixed up in no time." He said softly, lowering his body to show he was going to lift her. She didn't respond verbally, but closed her eye and let out a huff that he took as a yes. Natsu then lowered his head and gently nudged himself under her, lifting her slightly smaller body onto his back. He shifted his wings slightly, making sure she wouldn't roll off, her forearms falling forward off his shoulders as her head rested on his neck.

"Thank you..." She whispered when he started moving, her eyes remaining closed. He looked back at her as he walked, his smile growing wider at her relaxed face. She really was very beautiful, and at closer inspection her scales caught his eye as they seemed to twinkle and reflect light like the perfectly cut gems found in his treasure hoard.

When he arrived at the large lake that lay at the edge of his territory between the mountains he slowed to a gentle stop at the edge of the bank. He lowered himself and tilted to the side so the female on his back would gently roll off to the sand. He adjusted his wing to make sure she didn't roll too fast, and breathed a sigh of relief when she safely slid to the ground.

"Can you move yourself to the water?" He asked her, knowing she was still awake and could hear him.

She nodded slightly, moving to lift herself up onto her own legs. He turned himself so that they were facing the same direction, brushing his side against hers so that she could lean on him for support should she need any. It took her a little bit but she managed to get herself to the water's edge before she once again lost strength and collapsed half her body into the shallow tides of the water.

Natsu eyed her worriedly, but the feeling lessened slightly when she started lapping at the water. She drank for a while as if she hadn't in years, taking in many large mouthfuls before she'd take a breath and start again. While she got her fill of the cool water, he turned his attention to the wounds on her back.

They were definitely wounds she'd gotten on the chase and not from things she brushed against while flying. Well, some may be, but... Natsu lifted his left hand and matched his claws along the gashes that ran down on her left shoulder blade... Sting had tried to grab her multiple times it seemed, and somehow she'd managed to literally slip through his fingers every time.

There were identical wounds in several other places. Her right hind leg, along both her sides, her thighs and tail... He'd been so desperate to catch her, he didn't care if he had to hurt her or incapacitate her in the process. Such treatment of a female was disgraceful, it shamed him that the White Dragon dared to truly call himself a holy dragon.

"How long had he been after you?" He asked her, dipping his hand into the water and bringing a handful over her shoulder wound. He poured it slowly over the gash, and she yelped as her body jolted from the stinging sensation that followed. Natsu grimaced at the sound of her pain but he had to make sure they got clean. "Sorry,"

She hissed as he repeated the process several times, but she didn't fight him. Her claws dug into the sand of the beach, showing her discomfort as she clenched her eyes tightly shut. Through the pain she remembered he'd asked her a question, and she felt obligated to answer since it was only fair.

Her voice was so small and quiet, he almost didn't hear when she spoke. "He's... He's been chasing me for weeks now... I can't be sure how just how long anymore."

_Weeks?!_ He saw her flinch and realized he'd said that aloud. He couldn't help himself, he was so astounded that this one female had somehow avoided being caught by a male almost twice her size for weeks!

"Weeks..." He repeated, softer this time. She nodded in affirmative. "You mean to tell me he's been tailing you all that time and you just kept running? How did you rest? How did you _eat or sleep_?"

The golden beauty didn't respond, not because she refused to, but because she wasn't sure how to. In her weary state she was just so tired it was hard to form cohesive thought.

"I... didn't really. I had to keep going as much as I could, he didn't seem to tire it was almost like he was so determined that it alone fueled him... there were times when I'd find a good place to hide, or was able to lose him. But he'd always find me, and it got to the point that I was too scared to sleep. Whenever I managed to get away I'd only stop and rest long enough to eat whatever I could find and then keep going."

"When was the last time you slept?" Natsu asked, his mind already planning for when they were done here. He'd take her back to his den, let her rest and get much needed sleep, and then go and get her a proper meal. She'd surely lost too much weight from her experiences, and he greatly respected and admired her strength for lasting as long as she had.

"Honestly I can't remember... but I know I wouldn't have lasted another day. If you hadn't stopped him when you did I would've probably gone for another few miles before I just dropped out of the sky and let him have me." She admitted with a shiver of disgust as her head downcast to the water.

_Like hell I would've let him have you._ Natsu thought with a scowl, but quickly shook away those thoughts. "You got lucky when you flew into my territory, I don't allow other dragons to enter unless they're passing through. When I heard the ruckus I thought you two were a pair of outsiders frolicking into the wrong place, I was just on my way to boot you out when I saw what the real problem was."

"I caught your scent." She said, surprising him. So she had known he was nearby when Sting hadn't? "I had been hoping that you were one of those types that got defensive over their land. If you were then I knew it would be my chance to finally escape him. One such use for a male's stubborn pride."

_Beautiful, strong, clever, and smart... I officially like her. _He chuckled.

"So you hoped that I'd attack him, hmm? Well I'm glad I could be of service." She rewarded his efforts with a small burst of laughter, despite her discomfort as he continued to wash her wounds. He sighed impatiently at his progress though, it was taking too long to clean them one at a time and he felt he was causing her more pain than he was helping.

"Maybe it'll be easier if we just get you deeper into the lake and submerge you instead." Natsu suggested. "If we do that it'll get done faster. Doing it this way will take too long and just cause you more pain."

She whimpered at the idea but didn't argue with him, giving him her answer when she stood up slowly. Natsu let her lean on him for support and walked alongside her, the two dragons trekking further into the lake, the water level rising with every step. Soon, the water was up to their shoulders and she slowly lowered her body down so she was sitting.

The water stopped at the base of her neck, all her wounds submerged beneath the surface. She didn't make much noise, having already grown used to the stinging sensations and sighed when she no longer felt pain in her wounds.

Natsu watched her carefully. "Feeling better?" She nodded, turning her head to face him. "I'm sure a bath feels great after flying so long, too."

"A little... thank you, for all you've done." She told him gratefully, smiling tiredly but you could see how sincere she was.

"It's nothing," He shrugged. "you didn't deserve the painful things you've experienced the last few weeks. I always hated watching females get mistreated at home, so it shouldn't be different outside of home. I gotta know, though, how did you wind up like that? Do you know him?"

She shook her head vehemently, "I wanted nothing to do with him! I came across his territory completely by accident, just passing through and when he saw me he didn't waste any time with pleasantries either. He simply said 'You're going to be mine' and proceeded to try and tackle me into the dirt! I barely managed to dodge his advances and flew off without looking back. As you can see he was very persistent..." Natsu snorted.

"You're the first female he's seen in a long time, of course he wouldn't give up on trying to catch you for himself."_ I wouldn't either, honestly... _"Females are scarce since the migration in X777. Even I haven't seen any since I lived with my colony."

"I hadn't seen any dragons before him for a long time either. I ran away from home at a young age and since then I've been in hiding, high in the mountains on a place called Celeste Island, I liked the name so I built a den there. But my home was recently overrun by humans, I had to flee before they became aware of my presence. I've been a nomad for the last few months, trying to find a new place to live.

"I came across this bright place that was really pretty and full of light, it looked so peaceful that I decided to rest there. That's when he found me, he startled me out of what was the last good sleep I would get and didn't even have the decency to introduce himself before he started spouting nonsense about how I was going to be his mate and bear him children!

"I refused him, told him 'no' many times but he didn't want to accept that. Said I was the only female he'd come across and he 'wasn't going to let opportunity slip through his claws' and then attacked me."

Natsu listened quietly, and soon his eyes lowered to the gashes visible through the water. "All these wounds, for a female you sure are a tough little one. Most would've caved and just accepted their fate."

"Not me, I have standards and they don't include being told 'You're mine whether you like it or not', thank you very much." She huffed, then her brow raised at him. "And who are you calling a _little one_? You're not that much bigger than me, you know."

"Don't go there." He growled half-heartily with a slight glare as she stuck her tongue out at him. "But anyway, you won't have to go through that again. If he does come back, he's warranted a death wish. He's lucky I let him leave with all his limbs, nobody disrespects Natsu the Flame Dragon Prince."

"Y-You're the Fire Prince?" Her eyes widened and she quickly backed up, splashing water around and startling him with her sudden movements. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know, I didn't realize just whose territory I'd entered!"

"Hey, whoa, calm down! Geez, if I knew I'd get this kind of reaction over my title I'd have just introduced myself as Natsu..."

"I must be a huge bother, troubling you like this..." She murmured, her head lowering downwards again. Was she being serious? After the ordeal she just went through, and the fact she's covered in wounds, she was worried about causing him _trouble_? She was really odd.

"You're not a bother at all! I wouldn't have just let another male treat a female like that on my domain, that kind of treatment is unacceptable. You deserve to be treated with respect and for the treasure that you are!" And then he felt like slapping his hand over his mouth, embarrassed at having said such a corny thing. What the hell was wrong with him?!

But the female's brown eyes slowly and shyly looked up and over at him, causing him to swallow thickly. "Y-You mean it...?"

"Y-Yeah, sure..." He replied awkwardly, not wanting to meet her gaze. He didn't like the stirrings this females was causing, not at all, nope.

"So tell me," Natsu said after a while to change the subject. "What kind of dragon are you? You know what I am, but I've never seen a dragon like you before."

"I'm Lucy, I'm a Celestial Dragon." Lucy... Somehow it just suited her. "I use the power of the stars. I'm also able to visit the Celestial Spirit world of my own free will, the Spirit King is a dear friend of mine."

"Cool! What kind of powers do stars have?" Natsu asked excitedly. Whenever it came to talking strength and magic, Natsu was as eager as a human child in a toy shop. Maybe he'd challenge her to a sparring match to see for himself.

"I'll have to show you sometime, it's not something I can explain in simple terms." Lucy replied before letting out a long, drawn out yawn. Natsu wanted to smack himself for denying her rest by asking a bunch of questions, she had to be barely keeping her eyes open at this point.

"You're tired, I'm sorry." Natsu stood in the water, twisting towards the shore. "C'mon, I'll take you to my caves."

The two dragons waded to the bank and then proceeded into the forest, Natsu leading but sticking back enough to offer support if Lucy needed any. He offered to carry her but she respectfully declined, wanting to stretch her legs a little more.

Soon Natsu turned his head to her, clearing his throat to get her attention. "While you sleep I'll find you something to eat, any requests? I've pretty much got all kinds of fair game around here if you've got a favorite."

Lucy took a minute to think about it, but in her tired state she couldn't really be picky or choosy, she just wanted food. "Just... nothing cute, that's all I ask."

"Nothing _cute_?" Natsu parroted incredulously, pausing in his stride for a moment to let that sentence settle over his head. Then he burst out laughing, startling Lucy. "Wow! What a weird request!"

Lucy was taken aback by his response, before she shot him a harsh glare for laughing at her. "It's not weird! I don't like hurting cute things, there's nothing weird about that!"

"You're denying yourself a meal because the thing is 'cute', and you can't stand to hurt it? I'd say that's pretty weird if you ask me." Natsu kept laughing, despite the angry growls from the Celestial beauty.

"Nobody asked you!" She shouted then, huffing and stomping forward to walk ahead. Natsu watched her lead him slightly, chuckling despite her anger. Regardless of exhaustion, she was still being stubborn and proud.

"You gonna find the caves all by yourself, there, Goldie?" He taunted, laughing outright when she halted, only to whip her head around and glare daggers at him.

"It's LUCY!" She hissed before turning back and continuing towards the tall mountains ahead. She must have assumed that's where the caves would be, and she'd be right, but he wouldn't admit she had good direction even if it was true.

"Touchy... maybe I'll put you in a separate cave instead of in mine." He mumbled, as if he was speaking only to himself. But she heard, he knew she would.

"As if I'd sleep in YOUR cave anyway! What kind of female do you take me for?" She screeched, feeling slightly insulted by his comment.

He didn't answer to that one, having no response that would allow him to keep all his pieces in tact. He wouldn't have said anything horrible, but he was infamously known to get bad foot-in-mouth disease, and make things worse by talking.

The journey onward was made in silence. Lucy trudged on ahead, not looking back at the fire male trailing close behind. She could smell his scent all over this place, it was invading her nose with every inhale, firewood smoke and something indescribably spicy. A very strong and unique smell, it excited her nostrils to sniff.

She tried not to let it affect her, however, she didn't want to like _anything_ about this cheeky male. Not after insulting her like that.

Eventually Natsu called them to a stop when they reached the base of the black rock mountains. "We gotta fly up from here, just follow me."

Lucy cringed slightly at the idea of having to use her tired wings, but shook it off, remembering that it was only to get up to a place to sleep. Nodding, she spread her wings out in preparation.

Seeing her ready to go, Natsu took off into the air himself, waiting until she was off the ground too before steadily rising up the side of the mountain. He kept a watchful eye on Lucy the whole time, making sure she didn't fall or falter in her flying. He was relieved to see her not struggling, but you could see it wasn't for lack of trying on her part.

The two set down on a ledge moments later, facing a wide opening in the mountainside. The cavern inside was one of the biggest he had, the only other bigger ones being his own and the treasure hoard cave.

"This one should suite your needs, I slept in this one before I found the bigger one that I now use." Natsu explained, then looked at her and gestured her to go on inside. "Do whatever you need to make yourself comfortable."

"Hmph. I'm going to sleep then. Thank you for the hospitality, now goodnight." And with that she strut into the cave, her nose in the air as her tail moved back and forth in a slightly hypnotizing fashion. Even with a hostile air about her she was alluring.

Natsu shook himself out of his thoughts. _Stinkin' odd female, pretty and nice one second then a moody pain the next..._

Natsu waited until the last bit of her tail disappeared into the shadows of the cave, and her footsteps stopped echoing out to his ears before turning to head to his own den. It would be a while before she woke up and was ready to eat, so he may as well go back to his own lunch that was probably stone cold by now.

In his head, Natsu recalled all that had occurred in just a couple hours. He had two dragons trespass, fought off one, and has the other staying in his old cave just below his own. And she was a female, albeit a weird moody one but a beautiful one nonetheless.

The fire dragon shook his head with a sigh.

What a day, and Natsu had a feeling there would be more eventful days like this to come now.

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And that's chapter one! What did you guys think? I wanted to try a concept for a story I haven't seen done yet; we've seen Natsu able to turn into a dragon, we've seen dragons with human bodies... But what about a story about actual dragons? I'll try it. Like I said I did a lot of research for this, so I should be well-educated enough to make this story worth reading while hopefully still capturing the character's personalities. I hope I did well, please let me know in a review! It'll help motivate me.

See you in the next chapter, mwah~!

SHB. SoaringHellButterfly.


	2. Getting Acquainted

Hello again, HellFly here! I'm very pleased with the reactions I received with the last chapter _(Thank you so much to **Mirror Night** and** tbhnalu** for the top comments that made my day!)_, and have decided to continue this story so long as I get the happy reactions like I have been. And if you have questions, comments, or maybe even special requests for this story it is not fully set in stone, you may feel free to tell me in a lovely review! I may or may not use suggestions but would also like to please my audience as much as possible.

Now, since I'm going on with this hopefully I will continue to keep your interest now that I've caught it in my web. :) This chapter you can expect to get to know our favorite pair, learn more about them as dragons and not the mages we know and love. Also! If some of you would like to have an idea of what these dragons look like, go to DeviantArt and look up 'Fairy Scale Protagonists' by LunetteFox. I plan to draw a full-body image of them and other dragons featured in the future (I will not reveal who yet though!) Enjoy the story!

Oh! Forgot to put this in last chapter so it will be here;

**Permanent Disclaimer: **I, the Author, do NOT own Fairy Tail, or anything that is from Fairy Tail. It is all owned by creator and genius Hiro Mashima-san. I am merely playing with the characters and their lives for my own amusement and the joy of others for this story.

* * *

_**Fairy Scale**_

**Chapter 2**

Getting Acquainted

She ended up sleeping for a whole day. A very long and dragging day...

It was understandable, and she probably would have even hibernated a while if he'd let her, but he didn't want her to go to sleep for any long period of time without food. So the day after the arrival of his first in-home guest, nearly twenty-four hours after leaving her to sleep, Natsu strolled into her cave with a non-cute beast hide in his mouth.

You could imagine his amusement when he had started his hunt this morning, before that amusement turned into something close to annoyance. How was Natsu, a male with an entirely different way of thinking, supposed to know what was _cute_ and what was okay? The last thing he wanted was to bring her something she'd refuse, so he found himself actually struggling with his quest for a little while as the animals he found all seemed to have some cute charm.

It wasn't until he came across a beast that - to put it in terms easily understood - looked like a bull on steroids that he deemed his search successful. Surely she wouldn't think steak was cute, right?

He dropped the carcass noisily down on the floor, before looking up toward the back of the cave. The golden female known as Lucy was curled up on a messy half-made nest of leaves and flowers that she'd probably gone and fetched to make herself more comfortable before falling dead asleep on it. The heavy _'plop'_ of the meat to the ground didn't even stir her the slightest, she was that deep into sleep.

Natsu took a minute to simply watch her, giving her form an observant once-over. Her wounds were healing it seemed, and looked to have been treated... he would have to ask her about that when she was awake and conversing. In the meantime he took in her overall appearance, now that he could freely look at her without interruption or fear of her catching him. Her soft snores told him she wouldn't wake up, unless she was one of those that just wake when they sense they're being watched...

The first thing that drew you to Lucy was her incredibly sleek and lustrous scaled body, as even in the shadows of the cavern it seemed to shimmer and reflect the smallest bit of light. The golden scales just continued to twinkle and shine constantly, like the very stars she drew power from, even the white underside of her belly had a lovely iridescent effect to it.

Her physique was slender and graceful, each curve on her person appearing delicate yet only disguising the pure muscle laying beneath. She may be smaller than most but that didn't make her seem any weaker to Natsu. After all, despite hating it he wasn't one to talk about size mattering.

Lucy certainly didn't appear like a weakling, not to say that all females were weak or anything. Some females chose not to engage in battle and rather focused on other less-dangerous paths such as healing or caretakers. But this one was definitely not fragile, if her recent struggle to survive a desperate male was his only indication of her strength.

Yet you can't help but think she's fragile when you look at her, her claws are even manicured! Not a chip or crack or single scuff on them. How did she manage that on her mad dash around Earthland? Natsu's eyes drifted from the perfect pearly white claws, taking in the rest of her with a shake of his head.

Her wings were bat-like in appearance, with the skeletal structure the same gold as the rest of her, but the membrane was a sheer filmy white which you could kinda see through. Upon her forehead, like the centerpiece of a headdress, were three horn-looking points that appeared like the top half of a traditional star sitting in the space just in front of her curled white horns. Cone-like ridges going down her back were the same bright white, lining along her spine and down her tail until they grew smaller and then disappeared at the end where a point identical to the star-shape on her forehead formed.

She was beautiful, there was no denying that. If only her attitude could always match...

Shaking himself out of his staring, Natsu decided now was a good time to wake her up for some food, and hopefully also learn a little bit about his strange guest.

"Wakey wakey~" He cooed with a grin, using the tip of his tail to tickle her snout. She twitched, her brow furrowing as her head unconsciously started moving away from the bothersome sensation. Natsu continued with a chuckle, "I brought ya some breakfast. A not-cute animal, just like you wanted!"

He kept nudging gently with his tail until the golden beauty opened her eyes slowly, her heavy lids blinking a few times before closing again as she let out a yawn. She lifted her head, looking toward the dragon standing before her.

"How long have I been sleeping...?" Lucy asked, looking past him to see the light pouring in from the opening of the den. Judging from the brightness outside it was still morning - but was it the morning after her arrival or several mornings after? Based off how tired she still was, it had to be the former.

"A day. I'd let you sleep more but you need food. Here, I got this just now." Natsu replied, sliding the meaty carcass towards her with his tail.

Lucy looked down at the offered food, sniffing at it while asking, "What is it?"

"Steak, not cute in the slightest, trust me. Eat, it's good and fresh." Was her answer, along with a wide grin that flashed sparkling teeth at her. He seemed so proud of himself, but it did flatter her that he remembered her "weird request" of not killing anything cute.

"Thank you." Lucy murmured, before turning to the food that was presented to her. She was about to bite into it, when a thought occurred to her.

"Umm..." She mumbled nervously, looking up at him before dropping her gaze back downwards to her food. "Uh, could you...?"

Natsu tilted his head at her. "Hmm, something wrong? Need me to leave? You're not the kind that doesn't like to be watched doing anything, are you?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, it's not that... I was just wondering..."

She still seemed hesitant to finish asking, so Natsu waved her on in encouragement. "C'mon, just tell me. It can't be that big of a deal."

"Can you cook it for me?" She finally blurted.

He just stared at her, his expression unreadable. If she had to guess what he was thinking, it would probably be that he felt insulted. Lucy wouldn't blame him for being offended, she just asked a _Fire_ Dragon to waste his magic and fire on something that normal dragons just eat raw or devour alive.

Still, she felt a need to defend herself. "I-It's just it always tastes better cooked! Please don't look at me like that, I always got odd looks when I cooked my meals-" "That's actually one thing about you that _isn't_ weird!" He suddenly exclaimed, cutting off Lucy's nervous rant.

She stared at him in shock for a second, so he explained. "I love cooking my foods, too, it tastes way better than cold and raw I know exactly what you mean. And if you want it cooked, that's no problem at all! How do you like it; medium, well-done?"

It was slow-forming, but Lucy smiled widely at him. "Medium."

Natsu grinned back. "Coming right up!"

Lucy watched as he built his version of a grill out of rocks, and proceeded to light the meat aflame on it. Natsu couldn't help but show off just a little bit, it was in his nature to and to be fair he never got the opportunity nowadays. He was very resourceful, and that was a good trait to have in a companion, for some strange reason he felt it important she know that about him.

She soon told him it was too much for her by herself, so he divided the carcass into two portions for the both of them. Eventually, Natsu pulled the two medium cooked chunks off and set the steaming meat in front of them.

"Enjoy." Natsu told her before ripping into his own breakfast. It was great that she offered to share, because he didn't want to have to go back out if he didn't have to.

"Thank you for the meal." Lucy said graciously before digging into her own food, at a slower rate than the red dragon just devouring it almost bone and all. Natsu didn't appear at all shy about his eating habits, the only thing he seemed concerned about was not letting any piece go to waste. Soon there was nothing but clean bone left on his side, and he looked over to see Lucy almost finished.

"Good?" He asked. Not wanting to say anything with her mouth full, Lucy simply nodded without looking up. Natsu grinned cheekily. "I'm glad."

It was a few more minutes before there was nothing but two small piles of meatless bones, the two dragons lying near each other as sighs of fulfillment escaped them. Lucy cleaned herself of any debris from her meal while Natsu just lounged back lazily using a sharp bone like a toothpick.

"Your wounds," Natsu began after a while of peaceful silence, pausing to nod his head at the set of gashes visible to him on her shoulder blade. "they look treated. When did you do that? It looks like you even got the ones on your back, how'd you reach those?"

Lucy looked down at her own shoulder, noticing the glistening balm that lay over the wounds. "Oh, I didn't do it. Virgo did."

"Birdo? Wha?" Natsu asked dumbly, tilting his head.

"Vir-go." Lucy enunciated with a chuckle. "She's one of my contracts from the Celestial Spirit world."

"Contracts, huh? Are you going to be able to tell me how that works?" If he couldn't get that sparring match out of her right now, he could at least learn about her other abilities. They sounded interesting, what does a Celestial Dragon do? She didn't seem shy about talking about it either because she just jumped right in.

"All Celestial Spirits have their own key that ties their gate to the mortal world for summoning. These spirits form contracts with holder-type mages who collect their keys, and under this contract they form a bond with the caster being able to summon the spirit and use the spirit, within the specified contract agreement.

"Celestial Dragons were born from the starlight of Draco, a spirit of the dragons. With the Spirit King's blessings as well as Draco's starlight, we were born with a natural tie to the Celestial Spirit world. We can use the power of stars, and form our own sort of contracts with the spirits to have them aid us.

"But we have to encounter the spirit to form a contract, and I can only summon them if their key is not currently in use by a mage; a spirit cannot be in two places at once so I must respect the mage's contract as well. It is my understanding that the Celestial Dragons were created to act as protectors or guardians of sorts to the spirits and their world."

Natsu made a 'whoa' sound that voiced the wide-eyed expression he had perfectly. "Wow... A spirit world and contracting spirits, being a protector, it all sounds really cool." He wasn't lying either, it truly did sound like an intriguing form of magic. Not something he'd ever encountered before, at least.

And Lucy beamed with pride at the comment. "Thank you."

"If that's the case... Why didn't you summon one of them to help you, then? When Sting was chasing you?" He asked, the thought just now occurring to him.

Lucy's eyes grew sad, and her gaze lowered for a moment. "I have the utmost confidence in my friends, but I couldn't risk them to take on a male dragon the way he was. My strongest friend I'd need water to summon, and I couldn't be still long enough to try. Plus, I needed all the energy I could save to keep running from him, I wouldn't have been able to keep spirits out long enough to really do anything."

Natsu nodded, accepting that answer. "So you were able to summon that Virgo-whatever spirit to you yesterday?"

"With the little energy I had, yes. It doesn't take much magic for me to summon a spirit to the mortal world long enough to treat some wounds. I must've passed out after she arrived though, I don't remember anything before you woke me. She's able to close her own gate, thankfully."

"Well I'm glad she was able to treat those cuts for me, makes my job a little easier knowing that's taken care of." Natsu said with relief, he didn't know much about first aid. When he got injured he usually just let it heal itself and kept it clean. Although inside he felt a little disappointed he wouldn't get the opportunity to touch those shimmery scales of hers. They looked so soft and smooth.

"She'll be back to keep assisting me with treating them, you don't have to worry about that." Lucy said, looking off to the side slightly as she reminded herself about why it was a good thing to have Virgo doing it instead of this male. He was a stranger to her, even if he had saved her from a miserable fate. Having _this_ stranger touch her, though, wasn't quite as bad sounding...

Neither dragon liked the way their thoughts were headed, so they quickly thought of a way to distract themselves.

Natsu cleared his throat first. "So... You're a Celestial Dragon, you were originally living on an island, now you're a nomad." He summarized, while also thinking of what to ask her next.

It didn't take long. "You said you ran away from home." Natsu watched as she nodded. "How come?"

He was interested to know because, after all, he left home to be on his own too. However, the circumstances between his and her leaving home may be different.

Lucy stared at him for a few seconds, debating about whether or not she should reveal that much about herself. It wasn't like he could use anything against her, but it was a little unnerving to be so open, to let herself become vulnerable to his scrutiny. She hadn't felt like that in a long time, being on her own.

Still, it was nice that someone had actually taken an interest in learning more about her. So she opened her mouth and words started coming out.

"I didn't come from a big colony like I'm sure you did. My home had consisted of me, my parents, and several other families. Celestial Dragons are becoming a dying race, we fear..." Lucy paused as a somber expression formed at the possibility, if she passed on who would be around to look after the spirits if the rest of the Celestial Dragons were also gone?

Shaking herself, she carried on where she left off. "Many of us don't find compatible mates, and end up living nomadic lives alone until death. My father didn't want that for me, so we never left the group in hopes that I'd find a mate when I came of age.

"But... then my mother passed of illness when I was still little, and my father was never the same afterwards. He... literally went mad after she died, but it built and brewed inside him slowly. It didn't happen all at once like some dragons when they lose their mate. He didn't want to accept her death, and I know that's why it took as long as it did for the insanity to take over...

"One day the very sight of me made him finally go into hysterics and rage. I ran away with another family to escape any danger he could impose on me in his state. I don't know where he is, or if he's even still alive... Frankly, I don't care to know anymore; my father died inside along with my mother it seemed. He was never my father afterwards, just a broken dragon. As soon as I deemed myself old enough I left the other family to be on my own, have been ever since."

Looking back on it all, Lucy would never regret leaving to be on her own. Her journeys made her paths cross with that of her now dear friends and spirits, she'd never regret those bonds. However, being a nomad was a lonely path. It wasn't what she truly wanted out of this life.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dig up touchy subjects..." Natsu said awkwardly after the silence started to drag, scratching his cheek with a single claw.

"No, it's alright. I got over being sad about it long ago..." Lucy waved it off, then looked at him expectantly. "But what about you? You've asked me about my life, tell me about you and yours?"

Natsu nodded. "Sure. What do you wanna know?"

"Are you really the fire prince?" It was something that had stuck inside Lucy's head since he introduced himself as such, and she was curious to know for sure if he was the one she'd heard about. There were always dragons claiming to be things they weren't.

"Yup. My dad is the Flame Dragon King, Igneel; in the eyes of my kin that makes me their Prince." Natsu confirmed, puffing out his chest in a flexing display of power.

Lucy giggled at his antics. "I've heard of him, he's a legend in the dragon community, he was infamous even way before the migration. You're really his son? The powerful _goofball?_"

"One and only." Natsu replied proudly with a smirk.

"So then why are _you_ way out here on your own, instead of with the rest of your colony? Don't they need you?" The golden beauty asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"With my dad there? No way. They don't need anyone to look out for them. We Fire Dragons are a proud race, we don't need to rely on anyone really. The title of 'King' just means that he's the strongest and the fiercest of us all, it doesn't mean we're a close kingdom like the humans have. The small fries just fear and respect us because they know they don't stand a chance. Igneel has almost five-hundred years under his belt and been through wars, he's seen it all."

"Still doesn't answer why you're out here by yourself." Lucy egged on.

"Because I have to prove I'm capable of taking over when he eventually steps down. If I don't, any other dragon could rise up and take that title, and destroy all that Igneel worked so hard to build."

"You're living alone so that you can prove your worth to your kin?" Lucy thought that sounded a little silly, but then again Natsu did just say that Fire Dragons were a proud race. Perhaps it was something that she wouldn't understand.

"No, not to them. To myself." Natsu replied strongly. At Lucy's confused expression, Natsu sighed before taking a breath and trying his best to explain his line of thinking.

"All my life I had things given to me. I had my meals brought to me, I won in a lot of fights because other young dragons feared me, all because of who my dad is. I don't want their respect because I'm the spawn of their king. I want their respect because I earned it with my own power. I want them to respect _Natsu_ not _the son of Igneel._

"But more importantly; I want to make my dad proud to call me his son and successor. Make him have no doubt that I have learned from him well and will use it to make myself the best dragon I can be..."

Hearing himself say that goal out loud, to another dragon, suddenly made Natsu feel a wave of vulnerability. He'd never put his thoughts about his leaving into words, never really felt the need to explain himself to anyone. Now that he has, he couldn't help but feel exposed. It was uncomfortable, and he didn't know if he liked it.

"I understand." Natsu's head snapped in Lucy's direction. Her face wasn't judgmental in the slightest, which eased him somewhat.

"You do?" She nodded.

"Yeah - well, maybe not everything but I do understand your desire. The desire to make your parent proud, I feel it every day when I think of my mother. She taught me the value and importance of protecting the Celestial Spirits and their world, I feel to dishonor them would be to dishonor her." _She also taught me about believing in the 'one true magic', too... But he'd think that was silly if I said that. _

"I didn't know my mother... and Igneel doesn't like to talk about her." Natsu said before he could stop himself. He didn't know what made him say that, he had never been so keen on the topic of his mother. But Lucy had been so open about herself and her losses that it felt wrong to deny telling her something equally as personal.

"I'm so sorry," Lucy murmured, her voice gentle. She couldn't understand that, so she wouldn't try to say she did. Lucy had known her mother, albeit not for too long before she was taken but she had known her enough to remember. "You didn't know her at all?"

"She died before I even hatched." Lucy gasped, a heart-broken expression taking over her. Lucy wanted to have a family more than anything, the idea of not getting to see your own baby just wrenched her heart.

"And like I said, Igneel doesn't like to talk about her at all. Even mentioning her is kinda taboo at home." Natsu said casually, looking at the ground between them.

Lucy's brow drew together. "Taboo? You mean he never told you about her at all? Your own mother?"

"Well... she was his mate," Natsu paused, glancing up at Lucy for a moment before looking down again. "I can understand why he doesn't or wouldn't want to. I had a happy enough childhood, I had my father and Uncle Atlas who gave me all I needed. I did get curious once and asked Uncle about her since Igneel was so tight-lipped about her.

"He told me only a little about her, as much as he felt I deserved to know. 'It's pointless to grow attached to someone whose gone', Uncle said. But he told me she was a Fire Dragon, too... and a _pink_ Fire Dragon, at that." Lucy's eyes widened slightly at the sound of her favorite color, and her mouth twisted into a grin as she parroted, "Pink?"

Natsu chuckled, nodding. "Fire Dragons are usually born with red or orange scales, or even the occasional yellow, unless you're my Uncle Atlas in which case your whole body is mostly fire. But she was a rare occurrence by being the first known born with pink scales. Guess it explains my own salmon color." He paused, looking down at his chest. Atlas had told him she was a slightly brighter pink than his own salmon coloring.

"So you get your pink belly from your mom?" Lucy giggled at the outraged expression that took over Natsu's face.

"It's not pink, it's salmon I said!" Natsu barked, his eye twitching in irritation before he stopped and composed himself. "Anyway, Uncle said dad fell for her at first sight... She was a strong dragon too, he told me, said she had incredible molten fire magic that earned her the title of "Volcanic Vixen". It's no wonder she was his queen."

"She sounds incredible." Lucy agreed. "Whatever happened to her?"

"She was a strong dragon I'm sure, but it was during the war with humans, around the time I was born. This war was the main reason we went into hiding, you remember. I was the only egg she'd laid, so she hid me away with a caretaker dragon and went to fight with my father."

"She left her child when he had not even hatched?" Lucy asked incredulously, unintentionally interrupting. "I would never..."

"It was a time of war, was Uncle's excuse, it was survival above all else. So when humans attacked all able-bodied dragons went to fight. Funny thing is... she was killed trying to _defend_ the humans. She and my father were on the side that fought for peace between humans and dragons, and the humans took advantage of that...

"The ones she'd saved ended up rebelling from their commanders that had killed her and began to fight with the dragons, and remained loyal to them even after it was over. For their efforts, they were taken in by many dragons to learn their magic, and became Dragon Slayers. My mother had done a great deed that day, I'm told, creating some of the first bonds between human and dragon."

Lucy couldn't help but feel enthralled by his story, if her awed expression was a dead giveaway. "Incredible... So her sacrifice created the first Dragon Slayers in a way."

"Yeah you could say that, Uncle Atlas thought it important I know the history if I were to become king. Otherwise I don't think he would have told me so much detail involving her."

"What was her name?" Lucy asked randomly, taking in every detail with interest.

Natsu shrugged. "He never told me. Said he didn't want me to accidentally say it around Igneel. When a dragon loses his mate... I hear the only other option besides death is insanity. I guess they basically destroyed all reminders of her to prevent that from happening to their king."

_Maybe that's what happened to my father... I was a constant reminder because I look just like mother, it must've torn him apart every time he looked at me... I wonder if my leaving made him get better? No, probably not..._ Lucy thought to herself, looking down at her folded hands laying on the ground in front of her.

"Uncle Atlas didn't want me to grow attached to her, because she's passed on. But that won't stop me from admiring my mother, for the incredible dragon she was." Natsu said, suddenly pulling her away from her somber thoughts as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, it sucks I didn't get to meet her. It sucks that dad has to go the rest of his life without her, but that just makes him the strongest dragon alive in my eyes. Because he has lost something that precious and still has the ability to carry on, still feels he has the strength and a purpose in this world."

"That's a very nice way of looking at it." Lucy commented in a soft tone. "Maybe you are his reason for living, you were their only child."

Natsu didn't respond to that. This conversation was going too deep for him now, he was starting to feel embarrassed by all the touchy-feely moods. He decided now was a good time to change the subject.

"Hmm... Anyway, you _are_ going to show me those powers sometime soon, right?" Natsu asked, leaning forward slightly and wiggling his brow in an attempt to be charming. He'd managed to get on her good side so far, if he played his cards right he might actually get that sparring match he wanted.

"When I'm feeling more recuperated, I _might_ feel like it." Lucy said with a playful grin, noticing but allowing him to steer the conversation away from the personal side.

It was a lot of idle chit-chat after that, the two dragons talking a little more about themselves and sharing stories from their time as nomads. As they talked they failed to notice the lighting in the cave begin to fade as it got darker and darker outside, until they were surrounded by shadows as night had fallen and the moon replaced the sun.

"We've been talking all day... It's already dark out." Natsu realized in shock, his eyes drawn to the moonlit sky outside the opening of the cave.

"Oh gosh, really?" Lucy looked towards the outside as well. "My, how time flies when you're having fun."

Natsu smiled at that, for some reason hearing that she had fun just talking with him was a nice feeling. Maybe she would be more rested tomorrow and he could show her more fun things they could do on his land. He hadn't had any friendly company for a long time, he was actually enjoying this.

The Fire Dragon rose to his feet, stretching his unused limbs out languidly. "I'll let you turn in early, then. I'm sure you want to go back to sleep."

So he had noticed her fatigued demeanor, Lucy had hoped he wouldn't, she'd been having such a good time she didn't want it to end too soon. But sleep sounded so good now... "I am a little tired still, I should be fully rested by morning though, hopefully."

Natsu brightened at hearing that, and watched her get up to head towards the nest she'd made. "Does that mean you'll want to actually get up tomorrow and go outside?" Natsu asked, hoping he didn't sound too eager.

"Most likely." Was her answer as she fixed the nest properly to sleep inside. In all honesty she wasn't sure she could do much seeing as she was still healing from multiple wounds. But she could at least go for a walk, right?

"Alright then, I'll be back in the morning to check on you." Natsu promised, turning himself towards the entrance and heading out. "Goodnight, Luce."

_Luce?_

Had he really just said that? It came right out before he even had time to think of it. Yet, he couldn't help but notice that it had felt natural to call her that, it suited her nicely. He was just worried that she'd heard the slip, and what her reaction to the nickname would be.

He turned his head back to look at her, but her head was turned away from him, facing the opposite wall. Lucy had caught it, he knew she did but he couldn't tell what her feelings about it were as all she did was softly say, "Goodnight... Natsu."

Natsu wanted to say something more, maybe ask her if it was too forward of him to just call her something like that as if they were closely acquainted, or maybe if she didn't like it. But he kept his mouth closed, and continued to steadily walk out of the cave. If she didn't like the name, she would've said so, right?

He couldn't see, as he'd fully exited and was now ascending to his own cave above, but she had a shy smile on her lips as she lay her head down on her forearms inside her nest.

"Luce..." She murmured to herself as her mind's eye pictured an infectious grin calling out that name. It created a fuzzy warm feeling in the pit of her gut, a sensation that - while pleasant - felt odd and foreign to Lucy. Closing her eyes, she wondered if she'd hear it again from him or if it was just a slip.

"Princess." A monotonous voice greeted, causing the golden beauty to shoot her eyes open and almost jump out of her bedding. A glance to the left showed her it was only the trusted spirit, Virgo, standing just outside the nest. The pink-haired spirit was bowing her head, her hands folded neatly in front of her. Lucy always wondered if the spirit chose to wear that maid outfit or if her key's former master made her wear it. She knew the shackled wrists were Virgo's own doing, though, no doubt in the slightest.

"Oh, Virgo. You surprised me." Lucy sighed, trying to calm her speeding heart. Now that she thought about it, she didn't remember when it had started beating so fast, before or after Virgo's arrival...? She had been so caught up in thinking about the nickname.

"My apologies, Princess. Will you be punishing me for doing so?" Virgo asked, distracting Lucy from her thoughts once more.

The golden dragon chuckled awkwardly. "Er... No, that's alright." No matter how many times she asked, it still weirded Lucy out.

Virgo nodded and stood straight out of her bow. "Very well. I have come to treat your wounds again, my lady."

"Thank you very much, go ahead." Lucy smiled at her, then laid her head back down and remained still as Virgo began to wash the wounds clean before applying a new coating of healing balm. It took a little time to get to all the injuries, as Virgo was only the size of a human and Lucy was a large dragon several times her size. The maiden had to climb on in order to reach the ones on her back.

As she worked, the maid noticed her friend's distant expression as she stared out at the night sky through the den's opening.

"Something on your mind, Princess?" Virgo asked softly, catching the subtle twitch in the dragon's frame as she acknowledged the question.

"... I keep telling you that you don't have to call me that. You and Loke are the only ones who insist on it..." Lucy said, partly to delay or maybe even avoid answering the question.

"My apologies, milady, but we call them as we see them."

Lucy rolled her eyes at that answer, snorting softly. Just because she had met and contracted with all twelve golden zodiac spirits and been entrusted the 13th Gate key by the Celestial Spirit King himself doesn't mean she's royalty or anything... She just had a lot of time on her hands to accomplish such feats as a nomad dragon.

Virgo knew that she was being modest again. "You were able to summon a gold class spirit in your weakened state, your strength and perseverance are truly admirable. More importantly, you saved some of us from cruel masters and helped our keys to be released from those contracts. You are good to us spirits, you value us as more than tools. That is why you are our Princess."

Lucy didn't respond, just lay quietly as the spirit was finishing up on the wounds on her back. It never bothered her that they called her that, it just felt weird that she had earned that level of devotion from someone. Had her actions really been that incredible to them? It all had just felt like the right thing to do at the time.

Still, to be called a princess was a little embarrassing. What if Natsu met Virgo and heard her say that? He'd misunderstand for sure. Lucy gasped. What if he really thought she was a princess? He's a prince... and he might think...

Lucy's face began to burn bright red at that thought, and she quickly shook her head to possibly fling it right out of her head. Virgo watched her do so with a blank expression, but her mouth twitched in amusement.

"Don't tell Natsu." The Celestial beauty blurted before she could stop herself.

"Natsu?" Virgo repeated questioningly, with a tilt of her head. "Ah, the male dragon that saved you. Correct? May I inquire as to why you don't want him to know?"

Lucy placed her hands over her face as her head lay flat inside the nest. "I... I don't know, honestly. I just don't want him to know too much about me yet."

Virgo didn't say anything more on the subject, she would not question her friend in her decisions, she just continued her work until all the wounds were treated with balm. When she finished, Virgo climbed off completely and went to stand before her master. No matter who owned her key in the future, Lucy would always be Virgo's true master.

"Will there be anything else you require?" The pink-haired maiden asked. The dragon shook her head tiredly.

"No, Virgo, thank you for everything." Lucy said, then proceeded to yawn as the fatigue from earlier crept back over her body. Virgo bowed at the waist, wishing her dragon friend a pleasant evening before disappearing in a cloud of dust.

The Celestial beauty let out a sigh after her gate had closed, leaving the female alone once more. Alone with her thoughts; thoughts of a certain crimson dragon.

Lucy whined pathetically and buried her face into the leaves and flowers under her to hide her burning face from the world.

_I don't want to let myself get attached to him, not when I'm probably just going to leave after I'm fully healed..._

* * *

And that's the chapter! Sorry for the lateness of this update but real life is a vampire, it sucks the... well life out of you! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, though, and will be joining me again in the future!

Also, I have decided to start a little 'Dragon Facts' feature here at the bottom AN of the next several chapters, it will be about things mentioned in the chapters or reviewer questions. I have been asked about these particular things and would like to clear them up if the story has not yet. As well as help all readers to understand the logics of this AU.

**Dragon Facts:**

_ Is it reasonable for Igneel to be 600 rather than 400? If Natsu is only 200?;_ Let me clear that one up. I mentioned in this chapter Igneel was nearing 500, and last chapter said Natsu just recently entered the 200s. In my line of thinking, each decade to a dragon is like one year to us humans. So in retrospective Igneel is almost 50 humans years while Natsu is 20. Reasonable? If I made him 600 then he'd be 60, and that's gross! Just kidding.

_How big are each of the dragons?;_ Well I shrank them from Fairy Tail size... Too big! Igneel was pretty huge in the manga, so probably shrink to half that size and that would be how big they'll become fully grown. As juveniles still maturing into young adults they are not far from reaching full size. Natsu, however, seems to be a tad smaller than the others. Anyone else notice that? He's the shortest guy in the guild! Compared to the other men aside from Romeo and Makarov. Or at least that's what me and a friend think. I could be wrong but thought it a funny concept.

_Loss of a mate;_ Dragons are monogamous, meaning they take one mate for life. Should they die, the one left behind has three options.  
One, follow their mate in death. Most seen in mated pairs who have no children.  
Two, total loss of mental comprehension, they are so emotionally broken by their loss they cannot control themselves and often end as option one.  
Or option three, live on for their offspring. This is possible if the widowed dragon is emotionally strong willed (such as Igneel) and not reminded of his lost love. Out of sight, out of mind. But do you think they'll really forget? No.

I hope this was helpful, and has still contained your interest in the story, it's slow going right now but there are big things planned and many more fun characters to meet! Stick around for them, won't cha?

Laterz! SoaringHellButterfly.


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